Fog fills the night, few leaves remain on the trees, lotus pond filled with dried leaves, the grass by the path all brown. In the past the flowers were red, and the trees green, the smell of plum filled the pavilion, but none still remain. At the end of the little bridge is a little house, the Cold Fragrance Hut*.

*Note: I did not use this translation in previous references to this place, and instead just said something like ‘house’ or ‘room’ or some other generic term. This is the house Li Xun Huan and Lin Xian Er lived in(remember when Li Xun Huan visited Lin Xian Er there?). But I will use this term from now on. As you can probably see by now, editing and thinking-up-perfect-translations tend to take a back seat to speed. I don’t like it, but it’s necessary if I don’t want to drag out this translation process for years. If I still feel up to it, I’ll make a thorough revision after I finish the whole translation. But for right now, you’ll have to bear with me.

Here lived the top hero in the martial world, and the most beautiful woman in the world; back then, the plum flowers blossomed, its smell alluring.

But now, cobwebs filled the corners, dust gathered on the windows, nothing remained, even the old plum trees had dried up.

Deep in the darkness of the night, a shadow appeared.

His hair disorganized, his clothing messed up, look like a street bum, but his expression still graceful, his eyes bright as the stars.

He walked over the bridge, saw the old plum tree, and sighed. The plum trees used to be his friends, but has since withered as he had.

Then like a sparrow he shot up!

The window on the top floor of the little building is closed.

But there are many slashes on the window. From these slits one can see that lonely person, facing towards the candle, sewing.

Her face pale, even her beautiful eyes cannot retain its magnetism of the past.

She has no expression, looks very cold, as if she had forgotten all happiness, and all sadness.

She simply sits there, sewing, withering away.

Tears in clothing can be mended, but the tears in one’s heart cannot…

At the other side of the room is a boy around thirteen or fourteen.

He looks very smart, a pair of eyes that makes him look even smarter, but his face is pale, so pale one almost forget that he’s a kid.

He’s practicing writing.

Although he’s young, he has already learned to withstand loneliness.

That withered man stood outside, watching them.

Tears flowed down his eyes.

After who know how long, that child stopped writing, raised his head, and began to stare at the candle flame.

That housewife also stopped sewing, looking at her son, her face filled with unlimited tenderness, and softly asked, “Xiao Yun, what are you thinking about?”

The kid bit his lips, said, “I was just thinking about when dad is coming back.”

The housewife’s hand shook, the needle stabbed her finger. But she seemingly felt no pain, for all the pain resides in her heart. That kid said, “Mom. Why did dad suddenly leave? It’s been two years, and still no word of him.”

The housewife remained silent for a long time, and then softly sighed. “I didn’t even know why he left.”

That kid suddenly showed a strange expression of hatred, said, “But I know why he left.”

The housewife said softly, “You’re still a kid. What do you know?”

That kid said, “Of course I know. Dad left because he’s afraid that Li Xun Huan will come back for revenge. If he so much as hear Li Xun Huan’s name, his expression would change.”

The housewife wanted to say something, but only let out a sigh instead.

She realizes that this kid knows a lot of things, perhaps too much.

That kid continued, “But Li Xun Huan never came, why hasn’t he come to see mom?”

The housewife’s whole body shook. She said loudly, “Why would he come to see me?”

The kid smiled. “I know he and mom have always been great friends, right?”

The housewife’s face became pure white. She frowned. “The sun is about to rise. Shouldn’t you go to sleep now?”

The kid blinked his eyes, said, “I won’t sleep. I want to accompany mom, because for the past two years, mom had not slept well at all.”

The housewife closed her eyes, tears poured down.

That kid stood up and started to smile. “But I do need to go sleep now. Tomorrow is mom’s birthday, I need to get up early…”

He walked over to the housewife and gave her a kiss on the forehead, then said, “Mom should also go to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He smiled as he walked out the door, but once outside, his smiled disappeared, replaced by a venomous expression. “Li Xun Huan, everyone else is afraid of you, but I’m not. One of these days, you’re going to die in my hands.”

The housewife’s eyes followed the kid out the door, filled will sorrow, filled with tenderness. This really is a smart son.

She only has this one son.

This son is her life, even if he did something that made her sad or angry, she would still love him wholeheartedly.

The love of a mother to her kid is always limitless, always unconditional.

She sat down again, made the light even brighter.

Every night when it’s almost dawn, she would feel especially gloomy.

A sound of light coughing came from outside the window.

Her expression changed again.

Her whole person seemingly became a piece of wood, unable to move, simply looking out the window. Her eyes carried a hint of joy, but also a hint of sorrow…

After who know how long, she slowly got up, walked over to the window, and with a hand still shaking, opened the window slowly. She asked loudly, “Who’s there?”

Great Work Meh!
And while we're all on the topic of Vincent's LXH, I'd just like to say that I loved that series (I was still naieve at that point to how much a story could be changed, you see, I hadn't seen ROCH98 yet, and that changed everything). Personally, Vincent was pretty cool in that series, showing a LXH that seemed pretty close to the one in this translation. However, I was really watching it for Jason Wu Jing's Ah Fei. I don't know why, but somehow his story really reached me (although stuff that would even somewhat resemble his life didn't happen till like 2 years after i watched it).

Wandering the world,
Sword in hand,
Searching for a challenge,
Begging for a loss...

There have been some discussion whether the old storyteller is really the same person as the guy whose ranked #1. Some people say they never mention it outright. Personally, I think theres enough clues to justify the assumption.

Like Meh said, I thought it was a decent stand-alone series. And although many people don't like the 2nd part, I was actually excited to see that they actually used some of the characters you're about to read later. Too bad they altered the plot so much.

I liked Vincent's portrayal of Lee Cham Foon and the person who played Siu Hung. I didn't like the way Ah Fei was portrayed. He acted too much like a giddy, little boy. Wong Yuen Seun's portrayal of Ah Fei in the 70s version was dead on. In fact, I'd recommend checking out that version too if the slower action doesn't bother you.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="80%" bgcolor="#dcdcdc" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" bgcolor="#DCDCDC"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><font size="1">"*Note: I did not use this translation in previous references to this place, and instead just said something like ‘house’ or ‘room’ or some other generic term. This is the house Li Xun Huan and Lin Xian Er lived in(remember when Li Xun Huan visited Lin Xian Er there?). But I will use this term from now on. As you can probably see by now, editing and thinking-up-perfect-translations tend to take a back seat to speed..." - Meh</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, I need to revise some things too. When I was chipping in on this translation, I used Cantonese for the names at first, but later switched to pinyin. And I never corrected it. So you'll see the same person with "different" names. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

It's kinda odd that those ten characters dont know each other (well i guess 7 and 8 figured each one out). I figured Bai Xiao Sheng would at least mention that Tien Gei Lao Yun is some old storyteller walking around with his granddaughter. I haven't seen Richie Ren's version, Li is CLH's teacher? But CLH doesn't use daggers...Anyway, my sister use to read me Gu Long stories for bedtime and I always thought Li's story happened first. I guess it could just be the order in which she read them to me.

Vicious: They know each other by reputation. Usually, they'll recognize the other by their weapon. But it's not like they're all friends and have an annual get-together over the Holidays. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"> Bai Xiao Sheng also doesn't strike me as an artist, so there wouldn't be sketches of what these guys looked like in the book.

And Bai Xiao Sheng wouldn't know what each of them would be up to at any given moment anyway. Even if he did jot down a brief description of what the person was doing at the time, doesn't mean Tien Gay Lao Yun will always be wandering the Realm telling stories or that every old storyteller is necessarily him. When he wrote the book, Lee Cham Foon was still living in the manor with Lum Tse Yun.

There are a lot of stories that occured before Lee Cham Foon besides CLH. Several famous personages from at least 2 previous novels will be mentioned later in the story.

My memory's hazy, but were there anyone mentioned in this book that was between #11-20? Bai Xiao Sheng listed the top 20 in his book. I thought one of them was already mentioned, but couldn't find any while looking over the beginning chapters. If there is one, please point them out to me, thanks.

Also looking ahead a few chapters. I must say that Chap 32-34 are damn good. Although translating the fight scenes are going to give me a headache...

I'm pretty sure it would be #14, Qing Wu Ming <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">. How do I know his number without having the book? He was my 3rd favourite character in Vincent's Xiao Li Fei Dao. I mean, from the show, you don't really know him all to well. He's only slightly opened up to us, and then he dies in the hands of #2 (no not from Austin Powers :P). But yea, I've also heard of Qing Wu Ming being in a sequel (cameo) so I guess this didn't happen <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">. However, the main reason I liked him at that time was his name <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">. I mean how cool is that? (to a 13 yr old i mean <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">) No-Life/Void of life. Argh this is the reason I'm not a translator. Kudos in advance to the person who can figure one out that sounds cool like it does normally in chinese <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">.

Wandering the world,
Sword in hand,
Searching for a challenge,
Begging for a loss...

Jing Wu Ming(Mr. No Life) was ranked 5th or 6th in the Vincent Jiao's version, IIRC. However, like Ah Fei, he is unranked in the book despite his abilities. You'll be able to figure out where he would've ranked later on in the book... A LOT later, unfortunately.

Goofy: You'll get to see the ponytailed girl and her grandfather quite a bit in the next few chapters. So you can figure out the answers from them.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="80%" bgcolor="#dcdcdc" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" bgcolor="#DCDCDC"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><font size="1">"My memory's hazy, but were there anyone mentioned in this book that was between #11-20? Bai Xiao Sheng listed the top 20 in his book. I thought one of them was already mentioned, but couldn't find any while looking over the beginning chapters. If there is one, please point them out to me, thanks." - Meh</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is weird, but I looked up some chapters in "Edge of World, Full Moon, Knife", one of the sequels to Siu Lei Fei Dao, because I remembered that one of the characters collected famous weapons. The book mentioned that the Wind and Rain Twin Meteors were ranked #34. Does that sound right? I listed it as #6 because that's what I saw at gulongonline.com. So I'm not sure which one is right...

I know that in Full Moon, Curved Knife...Divine Sword Manor (the 3rd Young Master's residence) carried the collection of weapons from the Bai Xiao Sheng's book (they were only missing Lee's Dagger and Gwok's Iron Sword). This collection moves around! <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0"> I don't have time to look it up right now, but I think they talk about it when Ding Pang's servant girl took out Lee's Flying Dagger.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="80%" bgcolor="#dcdcdc" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" bgcolor="#DCDCDC"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><font size="1">"my next question then is whether the other knew of his identity? How about his granddaughter? Is she really that innocent?" - Goofy</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

A lot will be revealed in the next few chapters. But I'm pretty sure you've heard of the girl before, because she's been discussed in the past in various forums.

Once opened, the stench of alcohol filled his nose. The room is dirty and disorganized, a man sleeping on the table, holding a wine bottle.

Another drunkard.

He smiled, and knocked the door.

The drunkard finally awoke, raised his head, and revealed a face full of freckles.

No one would ever believe that he’s Lin Xian Er’s dad.

Still not sober, he looked around and said, “Why would anyone come by this early in the morning? Run into a ghost or something?”

Only after he finished saying this did he see the middle-aged man. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

The middle-aged man smiled. “We met two years ago. Don’t you remember me?”

The freckled man looked at him, then said in surprise, “You’re Li…”

Before he can get on his knees, the middle-aged man lifted him back up. “It’s a good thing you still recognize me. Come, let’s sit down and chat a bit.”

The freckled man smiled. “How could I not recognize you, master*. I promise it won’t happen again. But, master you’ve gotten older the past two years.”

*Note: The ‘master’ here doesn’t necessarily mean that Li Xun Huan is his master. It’s a generic term any servant would use to refer to his master’s friends, who would be above his own social level.

The middle-aged man felt a bit of gratitude, said, “You also got older. Everyone’s getting older. So how have you been the past two years?”

The freckled man said, “In front of others, I might boast a little bit, but in front of master you…”

He sighed. “To be honest, I have no idea how I lived through the past two years. Today I sell some paintings. Tomorrow I sell some furniture….”

The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows. “Is it so bad that there’s no more money here?”

The freckled man lowered his head.

The middle-aged man said, “Are you telling me that when Fourth Master Long left, he didn’t leave any money to sustain the household?”

The freckled man shook his head, his eyes red.

The middle-aged man’s face looked even paler, began to cough continuously.

The freckled man said, “The Lady originally had some jewelry, but her heart’s too kind. She gave the money to the servants, so they can find some business to do outside… She’d rather burden herself than the servants.”

When he said this, his voice croaked somewhat.

The middle-aged man remained silent for a long time, then asked, “But you didn’t leave. You really are a faithful person.”

The freckled man smiled. “I just didn’t have any place to go to.”

The middle-aged man said, “You don’t have to explain. I know that while some people have a bad temper, their heart is good, but few people understand them.”

The middle-aged man frowned, talking to himself. “Shi Yin, Shi Yin, you’ve been through so much pain because of me. I must protect you. I won’t let anyone hurt you!”

The sun shined through the window, it’s very bright already.

The tealeaves aren’t good at all.

But as long as the tea is thick, people can drink it. This is just like women, as long as they’re young, one won’t find them disgusting.

The middle-aged man slowly drank the tea, then suddenly laughed. “I used to have a very smart friend, who said something very witty.”

The freckled man laughed with him. “Master, you’re very witty too.”

The middle-aged man said, “He* told me, ‘There are no wine that can’t make you drunk, and there are no ugly young women.’ He also said, ‘It’s because of these two things that I kept on living.’”

His eyes filled with laughter. “Actually, the good wines are the ones that has been sitting for a long time, the good women are the older ones because they have more flavor.”

The freckled man didn’t comprehend everything, so he didn’t respond, instead pouring more tea. “What’s the reason for master to come back?”

The middle-aged man sat there for a long time before responding, “Someone said, there’s a treasure here…”

The freckled man laughed. “Treasure? I wish there really is a treasure here.”

He suddenly stopped laughing, his eyes stared at the middle-aged man, asking, “If there are any treasures, I’m sure master would know, right?”

The middle-aged man sighed. “Although you and I don’t believe this rumor, apparently a lot of people do.”

The freckled man asked, “Who’s spreading this rumor? Why?”

The middle-aged man said, “He did it for two reasons. One is to get some greedy people to come and fight each other, so he would get something out of that.”

The freckled man said, “Any other reasons?”

The middle-aged man said, “It’s been a while since I’ve appeared. Many people wish to know my whereabouts. Whoever did this obviously want me to appear.”

The freckled man said, “What’s wrong with that? They’ll get to see just how amazing you are.”

The middle-aged man said, “But this time, there are some people even I can’t handle.”

The freckled man was amazed. “You mean there are people in this world even you’re afraid of?”

Before he got the answer, a loud knock came from outside, a voice screaming, “Is this where Fourth Master Long lives? We are here to pay a visit.”

The freckled man said, “Strange. We haven’t had any visitors for the past two years. I wonder who they are?”

After about an hour, the freckled man came back chuckling. “Today is the Lady’s birthday, even I forgot, yet these people remembered, and brought gifts too.”

The middle-aged man thought for a while, and then asked, “Who are these people?”

The freckled man said, “Five people came. A very stylish old man, a handsome youngster, a one-eyed man, plus a very ugly green-faced man.”

The middle-aged man said, “And the fifth person is a one-legged man, right?”

The freckled man nodded. “That’s right… How do you know? Do you know who they are?”

The middle-aged man lightly coughed, his eyes sharper than knife.

But the freckled man didn’t seem to notice, and continued to smile. “Although these people look strange, their gifts are certainly amazing. We’ve never had presents like these even when Fourth Master Long was here.”

“Really?”

“One of the gift is a coin made of pure gold, at least 6 pounds. I’ve never seen anyone this extravagant before.”

The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows, asked, “Did the Lady accept the gifts?”

The freckled man said, “She didn’t want to originally, but those people just sat in the living room and won’t leave, saying they want to see the Lady, that they’re friends of Fourth Master Long. The Lady doesn’t know what to do, so she sent the young master to greet them.”

He smiled. “Master, while the young master is still young, he certainly knows how to talk to people, sometimes even better than adults. All of those guests complimented on his intelligence.”

The middle-aged man stared at his tea. “I wonder if there will be more people coming, more people who would dare to come.”

ZhuGe Gang, Gao Xing Kong, Yan Shuang Fei, Tang Du, and ShangGuan Fei all sat in that large living room, talking to a kid in a red robe.

Although these are some of the best fighters in the martial world, they did not seem to look down on the kid at all.

Only ShangGuan Fei sat there quietly, not speaking a word, as if nothing in this world can make him speak.

ZhuGe Gang said with a smile, “Young master really is amazing. Your potential is limitless. In the future when you become a famous hero, I hope you’ll remember us old folks.”

That kid also spoke with a smile, “If I can only be half as successful as elders, I’d be satisfied. But I’ll certainly need elders’ guidance in the future.”

When Long Xiao3 Yun saw Yan Shuang Fei’s angry attitude, he hurriedly said, “His flying dagger is just made out of regular iron. It’s not some holy weapon, but people always seem to describe it that way. Sometimes even I find it ridiculous.”

The black-robed man said calmly, “I heard he wasted your kung fu, I bet you still hate him for that, right?”

Long Xiao3 Yun said with a smile, “Uncle Li is my elder. How can I be mad when an elder teaches me a lesson? Besides, a person doesn’t always need kung fu to become famous.”

The black-robed man stared at him, seemingly unable to see into his thoughts.

ZhuGe Gang clapped his hands. “Excellent! You’re certainly correct. You really are worthy of being Long Xiao4 Yun’s son.”

He really did open his mouth, even Long Xiao3 Yun was caught off guard. “That’s right.”

ShangGuan Fei asked, “Where did she go?”

Long Xiao3 Yun answered, “Auntie Lin suddenly disappeared two years ago, didn’t even take her jewelry or clothing. No one knew where she went, some said Ah Fei kidnapped her, others said Ah Fei killed her.”

ShangGuan Fei raised his eyebrows, then stopped talking.

The line of people walked over the bridge, arrived at the Cold Fragrance Hut.

ZhuGe Gang’s eyes brightened, as if very interested in this building.

Gao Xing Kong asked, “So what about this place? Is this where your mother lives?”

“Yes.”

Gao Xing Kong said, “We originally came to give presents for your mother’s birthday, so can we go up there to meet her?”

Long Xiao3 Yun rolled his eyes, smiled. “Mother usually don’t like to meet guests, so can I go ask her first?”

Gao Xing Kong said, “Certainly.”

Long Xiao3 Yun walked slowly upstairs.

Tang Du smiled. “It would really be a wonder if a kid like him can live long.”

ZhuGe Gang’s smile disappeared, said seriously, “Are you sure this is the place?”

Gao Xing Kong responded in a low voice, “I studied that letter over and over last night, the Li family treasure is in here alright. I heard they have been high level officials for many generations, that their wealth is unmatched.”

As he spoke, he kept looking at the black-robed man.

The black-robed man stood far away, looking at two crickets fighting on the ground, as if he doesn’t care for these people at all.

Long Xiao3 Yun said, “I’m also confused. Mother almost never leaves her room.”

ZhuGe Gang said, “If that’s the case, then we will wait for her upstairs.”

Only to see three yellow-robed men quickly ran over here. “Please let us clean up the room first.”

Long Xiao3 Yun seemingly wants to block their path, but was afraid to, finally let them go upstairs.

Only to hear a swoosh sound, a fifteen foot long* whip made three circles, each around a person’s neck.

The long whip tightened, then loosened.

The first person didn’t even let out a noise, before falling to the ground, dead.

The second person let an ‘Ugh’ sound, before also falling on the ground, dead.

The third person held his throat, walked forward a bit before falling down. His body kept shaking, unable to speak.

Although he did not die for a long time, his pain was ten times worse than dying.

The ability to strike down these three people at once shocked even ZhuGe Gang.

Only that black-robed man showed no surprise. He said, “It seems that the Snake Whip really is overrated.”

He sighed deeply, looking extremely disappointed.

Had XiMen Rou unleashed the full potential of that move, all three people would have been dead immediately. The fact that these three people died at different times, in different ways, showed that XiMen Rou had not mastered his whip yet.

ZhuGe Gang’s eyes brightened. “XiMen Rou. Yesterday you luckily escaped, but do you think you’ll be that lucky today?”

XiMen Rou did not respond, but his whip lashed out.

The whip did not make a sound, only when it straightened out did one hear a pop, as if it traveled faster than the speed of sound.

At this moment, ZhuGe Gang leapt up, his iron crutch met the long whip in mid-air, the whip twisted around, squeezing the crutch like a snake.

It's of the song I listened to while translating this chapter. Why am I doing this? Because I feel like it. Now aren't you glad I took the time off from my book translations to bring you this? <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> Too bad I don't have a link I can give to download this song.

Wait A Thousand Years
From: The New Legend of the White Snake
Singer: Gao Sheng Mei

A thousand years I've waited for this
Waited for this Ah ah ah....

A thousand years I've waited for this
I have no regrets Ah ah ah....

Who was the person at my ear,
Said,
His love for me would never change.
For this one sentence,
I am willing to die.

for some reason, whenever shi lin appears, I feel rather annoyed - that could be because her son was a brat and I can't stand brats.. <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/angrystick.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/alien.gif" border="0">

and Yeah! Li is great. there are times that he seems to bluff a lot but when he came to action, he was so wonderful! <IMG SRC="smilies/hatoff.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/clap.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/clap.gif" border="0">

((btw, is this the guy with the Solar Apex Sword? I don't think Gu Long put to many sword users in the book simply he wanted to show that in JiangHu theres all kinds of people and all kinds of weapons. So this guy, Ah Fei and Jing Wu Ming would be 3 swords. One more thing, how good is Jing Wu Ming? Is he like a refined Ah Fei? If he isn't listed like Ah Fei then I really have no Idea how good he is, better than this guy?))

Wandering the world,
Sword in hand,
Searching for a challenge,
Begging for a loss...